Cohen surname meaning

Cohen (Hebrew kohen) means “priest.” In Jewish tradition it signals descent from the priestly cohort associated with Temple service—classically linked to Aaron—though modern families inherit a name, not an automatic biography. After the Temple’s destruction, the surname and its many spellings (Cohn, Kahn, Kohn, and more) preserved that status word across the diaspora.

It belongs in the occupation/status bucket: a sacred office label turned family name. Folk stories that invent non-Hebrew meanings are unnecessary; the Hebrew is plain. A careful family page can say both “the name means priest” and “individual lineages vary in how literally that heritage is documented.”